THE OLIVE 



19 



The olive grower of California has sixty-five millions of country- 

 men among whom to market his product. . Now if we assume that 

 the consumption may reach only one jxmnd per head annually, it 

 would require ten million gallons to satisfy the demand for the 

 United States alone, or, with an acreage of fifty trees, olive groves 

 covering two hundred thousand acres. Our people have yet to 

 learn to appreciate the olive. It needs no pushing, it will make its 

 way on its merits. It is sufficient to say that the public were wil- 

 ling to pay during all last season fifteen dollars a gallon for an 

 oil they knew to be pure. But increased production will lower 

 the price, and a lower price will stimulate the consumption. 



Olive oil has always been greatly esteemed for the beneficial 

 effects derived from its use by the human body. This reputation 

 is sustained by the experience of mankind from the beginning of 

 history. Of late years it has been discovered that it contains chol- 

 esterin, which was only known to exist in the animal body, where 

 it forms an important constituent of the gall, the blood corpuscles^ 

 and the nerve substance. 



